 | |
| Author | Yiyun Li |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
Publication date | 2022 |
The Book of Goose is a 2022 novel written by Yiyun Li. [1] [2] [3] The novel won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
Li's initial inspiration for the novel was the discovery of a review of several books about French prodigies, published in the mid-20th century. [4] Li set the novel in France, though she had made only "occasional" trips to the country. [5] French-speaking writer Edmund White, a friend of Li's, read the novel before publication. [5] Li conducted historical research about France after World War II, the period during which portions of the novel takes place. [4] However, Li chose not to center the novel on the facts and information she discovered, as she did not feel the narrator, Agnes, needed to provide the readers overt verisimilitude. [4]
When Li completed the book, Li's editor compared the novel to the Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante. [4]
According to literary review aggregator Book Marks, the novel received mostly "Rave" reviews. [6]
Critics have written about similarities between The Book of Goose and the Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante. [7] [8] [9] Writing for The Atlantic , Sarah Chihaya referred to comparisons between the novel and the series by Ferrante as "too-easy" and "only helpful in orienting the reader toward the themes of desire and self-determination shared by the works." [7] In a review published by The Financial Times , Lucy Scholes asserted that comparisons between "any well-written novel about female friendship" and the Neapolitan Novels were inevitable. [8] Scholes specifically highlighted similarities in the settings of the works and the "dynamic" of the friendships. [8] Megan O'Grady wrote in a review for The New York Times that the comparisons were valid at the outset of the book, but as the novel evolved and the setting changed it instead reminded her of writing by Swiss author Fleur Jaeggy and Scottish writer Muriel Spark. [10]
The novel was long-listed for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. [11]
It was included on lists of the best novels in 2022 published by The New Yorker , Slate , and Time . [12] [13] [14]
Saverio Costanzo is an Italian film and television director.
Yiyun Li is a Chinese-born writer and professor in the United States. Her short stories and novels have won several awards, including the PEN/Hemingway Award and Guardian First Book Award for A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, the 2020 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award for Where Reasons End, and the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for The Book of Goose. She is an editor of the Brooklyn-based literary magazine A Public Space.
The PEN/Malamud Award and Memorial Reading honors "excellence in the art of the short story", and is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. The selection committee is composed of PEN/Faulkner directors and representatives of Bernard Malamud's literary executors. The award was first given in 1988.
Alba Caterina Rohrwacher is an Italian actress.
What We Lose is the 2017 debut novel of American author Zinzi Clemmons. It is loosely based on her own experiences caring for her mother who was dying of cancer.
Elena Ferrante is a pseudonymous Italian novelist. Ferrante's books, originally published in Italian, have been translated into many languages. Her four-book series of Neapolitan Novels are her most widely known works.
Christopher Bollen is an American novelist and magazine writer/editor who lives in New York City.
The Neapolitan Novels, also known as the Neapolitan Quartet, are a four-part series of fiction by the pseudonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante, published originally by Edizioni e/o, translated into English by Ann Goldstein, and published by Europa Editions. The English-language titles of the novels are My Brilliant Friend (2012), The Story of a New Name (2013), Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014), and The Story of the Lost Child (2015). In the original Italian edition, the whole series bears the title of the first novel L'amica geniale. The series has been characterized as a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story. In an interview in Harper's Magazine, Elena Ferrante has stated that she considers the four books to be "a single novel" published serially for reasons of length and duration. The series has sold over 10 million copies in 40 countries.
Ann Goldstein is an American editor and translator from the Italian language. She is best known for her translations of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Quartet. She was the panel chair for translated fiction at the US National Book Award in 2022. She was awarded the PEN Renato Poggioli prize in 1994 and was a Guggenheim Fellow in 2008.
Another Brooklyn is a 2016 novel by Jacqueline Woodson. The book was written as an adult book, unlike many of the author's previous books and titles. NPR wrote that the book was "full of dreams and danger". It was nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction in 2016.
The Days of Abandonment is a 2002 Italian novel by Elena Ferrante first published in English in 2005, translated by Ann Goldstein and published by Europa Editions. The novel tells the story of an Italian woman living in Turin whose husband abruptly leaves her after fifteen years together.
Merve Emre is a Turkish-American author, academic, and literary critic.
The Lying Life of Adults is a 2019 novel by Elena Ferrante. It was adapted into a television series of the same name by Edoardo De Angelis in 2023.
The Lying Life of Adults is an Italian and Neapolitan-language coming-of-age drama television series created by Edoardo De Angelis, based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante. It was released internationally by Netflix on 4 January 2023.
In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing is a book of essays published in 2021 by Italian writer Elena Ferrante.
Frantumaglia is a non-fiction book written by Italian author Elena Ferrante. The book reflects on her writing process over 20 years, and has been republished to reflect her experiences writing the Neapolitan Novels.
The Lost Daughter is a novel published by writer Elena Ferrante in 2006, in Italian, and translated to English by Ann Goldstein in 2008.
The Story of a New Name is a 2012 novel written by Italian author Elena Ferrante. It is the second volume in her four-book series known as the Neapolitan Novels, being preceded by My Brilliant Friend, and succeeded by Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay and The Story of the Lost Child. It was translated to English by Ann Goldstein in 2013.
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay is a 2013 novel written by Italian author Elena Ferrante, published by Edizioni e/o. It is the third installment of her Neapolitan Novels, preceded by My Brilliant Friend and The Story of a New Name, and succeeded by The Story of the Lost Child. It was translated to English by Ann Goldstein in 2014, with that edition published by Europa Editions.
The Story of the Lost Child is a 2014 novel written by Italian author Elena Ferrante. It is the fourth and final installment of her Neapolitan Novels, preceded by My Brilliant Friend and The Story of a New Name, and Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. It was translated to English by Ann Goldstein in 2015.